Lisa Fernandez, a three-time Olympic champion and perhaps softball's signature star for more than a decade, did not make the U.S. team's final 15-player roster for the Beijing Games.
"It's like Michael Jordan getting cut from the basketball team," said catcher Stacey Nuveman.
The 37-year-old Fernandez was named a replacement player on the American team, which will attempt to win its fourth straight gold medal this summer. Fernandez was on the mound when the U.S. team won gold in Athens, completing a historic run through the tournament in which the Americans outscored the competition 51-1.